


In Time

by snarechan



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Drama, Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-06
Updated: 2012-12-06
Packaged: 2017-11-20 10:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/584513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarechan/pseuds/snarechan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Parenting is hard to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [demishock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/demishock/gifts).



> Takes place after episode 42, _Hurt_. 
> 
> This story has been sitting on my HDD since...probably October, and written as a BBF-versary gift to my friend Cassandra Cassidy. She was nice enough to offer critique on her own gift, and Keppiehed lent a hand in editing.

June didn’t frequent the abandoned silos that served as a secret base of operations these days. She’d been hard pressed to go there ever since the events involving near-apocalyptic world dominion. She hadn’t received any alarming texts from her son, Jack, or his friends Raf and Miko. Nor had the Autobots – notably Arcee, Jack’s preferred associate – Ratchet or Optimus Prime alerted her to an incident. Along with that charming Agent Fowler and lack of government agents waiting outside her doorstep or turning up on her caller ID, it had to add up to a good sign. 

She should have known better. 

June finally brought herself to turn back up after a double shift at the hospital, expecting to take Jack home and treat him to dinner, since he’d spent time with the Autobots doing…whatever it was they did now. It was a struggle to keep up with events, ever worried as she was about what the kids would be roped into next; that task wasn’t easy for a single mother. She’d already sacrificed work hours to watch over her son during a couple of excursions, but he’d proven that he was turning into a young man. Still, a little hovering never scarred a child, June reasoned for the hundredth time as she pulled into the main hub of the alien headquarters. 

The spectacle that greeted her was the result of utter chaos. Bulkhead, the one she considered a bit aggressive, albeit caring, had been fatally wounded during an excursion that’d had the entire team involved in some way. _Again, with the kids in danger._ Her hands were shaking as she exited the car and listened to Jack start to recall proceedings. 

“You visited New York? Do you have any idea how crime ridden those streets are?” she demanded without waiting for further explanation, hands going to her hips. She was still donned in her scrubs, not having a chance to change between there and the drive from work. She practically lived out of the attire these days. 

“Mom,” Jack said. The raggedness of his voice gave June pause. “We had a bit more to worry about than common criminals-”

“Like what, Decepticons?”

“Yes, well, I mean,” he backpedaled at the distraught look that entered her eyes. “We’ve all had a long couple of hours. Can I just go home?”

“Fine,” June relented. Her baby did look tired and dirty and dehydrated. She was prepared to drive him to the house herself, but he was already heading toward Arcee, whom transformed into her motorcycle mode. 

Her lips thinned, but all June said was, “You take him straight home, understand? No crazy shortcuts or side trips.”

Arcee, at least, had the decency to bounce once on her tires, like a nod of ascent, and answer, “Affirmative, Mrs. Darby.”

“And make sure he drinks plenty of fluids and eats the leftovers I put in the fridge!” she called after them, but they’d sped away without hearing her. 

That exchange hadn’t remotely satisfied her concerns or provided answers to what had transpired. Frowning, June turned to take stock of those remaining. Bumblebee and Raf weren’t in attendance, which she hoped meant he, too, was being escorted home. Boys his age shouldn’t be as overexposed to these conditions as he was. 

Bulkhead remained unconscious, with Miko and Ratchet at the ready. She would have liked to pose inquiries to the doctor, who was nothing if not thorough in his accounts to her and polite, but she knew a patient – _patients_ – when she saw them. June would leave him to his work, knowing she would only be a hindrance to his research and treatment. For all that they’d learned about needing to accommodate each other, neither of them were any closer to understanding one another’s fields. Scheduling and energy just weren’t on their side. 

That only left Optimus, except he wasn’t present, either. Making a mental note to interrogate the entire lot of them later for answers, she loaded back into her vehicle with a sigh. She looked up at Miko sitting on top of her green companion, features subconsciously falling at the sight of someone so young carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. Witnessing such a vibrant person reduced to this had her maternal instincts flaring, but in all her time as a nurse she knew when to approach someone grieving and when to let them be. 

_Miko’s strong_ , June firmly reminded herself. That kid had run headlong into some of the most precarious situations imaginable and come out unscathed. Given a chance to recuperate, she would bounce back twice as determined. When Miko was prepared to face the road ahead of her, she’d do it, and on her own terms. 

So it was with the hardened willpower of a mother and a healer that she started her car, reversed, and drove away to leave the three remaining occupants in peace. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to make difficult decisions, but June still gave her rearview mirror a worried glance as she left. 

The sounds of discussion became audible as she approached the way out. The windows had been rolled down, allowing more noise to filter in, and she did not in the slightest approve of what she heard. There were two distinct voices, one she recognized as Optimus Prime and the other… When she returned her gaze to the path in front of her, June had to put on the breaks as the lights at the front of her car caught on something long and white. She skidded a short distance, but thankfully didn’t crash into the blockade. 

“Miko did _what?_ ” June yelled, her voice echoing like thunder off the metal corridor as she forgot all about her near-accident and instead focused on what little bits of conversation she’d caught. A robot she didn’t recognize was the one that now stood in the center of the exit. 

“Geez, more Earthlings? Where do they even come from?” the newcomer asked at the same time as her exclamation. The robot ignored her, causing June to frown as she leaned out her car window. 

“Whatever, I’m done here. For real this time.”

“No, we really need to talk about this!” June slammed her car door and stormed over. 

Either immune to the same manner of speaking she used when grounding her son or indifferent in general, he didn’t heed her. He changed into a sports-looking vehicle before zooming off without ever acknowledging that she was there. Dust kicked up in a large cloud from his tires. June coughed and hacked into a hand, and Optimus Prime needed to dispel the air with a single wave of his mighty hand to keep her from choking. 

“I am sorry for Wheeljack’s behavior. He meant no disrespect. It has been a trying time for him,” he said by way of a greeting, kneeling down to June’s level as he addressed her. His gaze wasn’t on her until after the trail in the desert faded, though. 

“What were you two saying about Miko just now?” June asked, ignoring his apology. “Did that…that Wheeljack guy just admit he took her to fight Decepticons? And there were explosions?”

His face was impassive as Optimus told her what he knew. June learned about the relics and their attempts to get them back, and the resulting aftermath was enough to make her skin crawl. Above the horror and direness of the situation, however, a ferocity on Miko’s behalf welled up inside of her that she could in no way control. Hours ago she thought everyone was safe and secure, and being informed that it wasn’t even remotely the case had her temper showing. 

“How could you let this happen?” June asked, fury darkening her tone. “Where were the rest of you during all of this? How can anyone condone letting a little girl go after those…those _fiends?_ She could be right there with Bulkhead in critical condition; she could have died! This is inexcusable.”

During her tirade, Optimus did not interrupt to refute her claims. 

“Can’t anyone realize that these are just children and human, at that? We’re not built with metal skin or guns for hands! Such level of irresponsibility can’t be afforded. I love my son and I refuse to lose… Out there, somewhere, is a mother and father who love Raf and Miko dearly, also. There are more than just your lives at stake here, I’ll have you know.”

“Indeed, you are right, Mrs. Darby. I understand.”

“Do you? Do you really?” June said, turning sharply on her heel to regard him. 

The expression he wore had her draw up short on whatever else she might have added. She recognized it as the one she saw every morning in her bathroom mirror. With a shudder, June clasped both hands in front of her and leaned heavily against the grill of her car, the hood still warm from when she’d driven it earlier. 

“You had no idea, did you?”

The stunned silence that followed her observation was telling enough. Her anger dispelled somewhat, to be replaced with apprehension. _If the leader of the Autobots wasn’t even aware of what was going on, then who else could be accountable?_ It was a terrifying thought to contemplate. 

“Okay,” June started, taking a huge breath to steady her nerves. The act didn’t work, but at least she could return to her previous front of calm resolve. “Okay, so I know those kids are a handful. Jack is braver than we’ll ever know, and Miko is _really_ headstrong, and Raf might be curious… And, okay, I realize you’re busy leading a war. That’s true, but what’s happened here recently and before can’t keep happening. One of these times we won’t be so lucky.”

“I, too, have come to the same conclusion,” Optimus Prime said, that statement alone sounding as if it took everything he had to say. “There must be a change, and I promise to uphold-”

“ _No!_ ” 

Flashbacks to _broken oaths to be there, always be there_ , came to June in a cold rush that had her straightening from her position on the beat up old automobile she owned. Without meaning to, she held up an accusatory finger that she wagged at him. A watery undertone entered her voice as she said, “Don’t you dare swear to anything you can’t keep! I won’t have it.

“I get what it’s like: to feel as if you’re alone facing this great, big threat that you can’t hope to protect your loved ones from. I’ve lived with that every day, ever since it’s just been me and my Jack against the world. That world keeps getting bigger, and…it scares me. I didn’t raise Jack just so he could die on a battlefield, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that there’s no stopping someone from doing what they think is right.” 

She finished her statement by moving up beside his bent knee and giving it a light bump with her clenched fist. 

“Look, I’m sorry for being so hard on you. There’s no one that isn’t hurting in their own way, and they shouldn’t have to face everything by themselves. Even you.”

“Mrs. Darby,” Optimus Prime began, head tilting somewhat to regard her, “you are perhaps the wisest of your kind.”

“Sweet talker,” June said, releasing a disbelieving laugh. “I’m sure I’m not much older than you, in human years. What’s the conversion rate on that, anyway? On second thought, nevermind.” June shook her head to get herself back on track and said, “How about this: maybe if I watch over half and you cover the other half, we can lighten the load? Two pairs of eyes have to be better than one. Deal?”

“A suitable arrangement,” he agreed. 

“Good,” she said, pulling back so she could return to her car. “Starting with my getting home and making sure those two renegades didn’t get sidetracked halfway to the suburbs.” 

“May you have a safe journey, and do not fret. I will be sure to have matters safely in hand here.”

“I trust that you will.”

This time, when she drove away her eyes were straight ahead, never once straying to the rearview mirror.

-Fin-


End file.
